Konbanwa minna-san! (Good evening everyone)
Before I talk about today's happenings, I forgot to mention two things last time. The first was that I met some of Emi's friends last night. They're Taiwanese, and they had relatives in Sugarland. :o Small world! The second item was the subject of food. I love Japanese food! It helps that it resembles Chinese food, which I can never get enough of. Having rice and miso soup for every meal is fine with me. My family has been changing it up though so I get to try new things, like baby bamboo shoots and tamagoyaki ("fried egg"). I also love daikon (white radish) so I'm glad they have lots of that. The one thing I do miss is the abundance of fruit. Japanese grapes and peaches are awesome, but I wish I was able to eat more fruit. Or maybe not because they keep stuffing me full. I feel bad for refusing, but there comes a stopping point. I bet they think it's weird that I don't eat so much. Part of it is probably due to the fact that my stomach doesn't adjust well.
Today and tomorrow, we're off doing our own things with our host families. After breakfast, I watched a Japanese dorama set in WWII. I recognized Miyazaki Aoi who plays Komatsu Nana in the NANA movie; she's always so kawaii (cute/pretty). Then, Emi and the boys gave me a tour of the yard and nearby rice fields. I like being out in the country because it's so quiet and simplistic. You get a sense of serenity being out in nature. That being said, I still miss some of the luxuries from back home. For some reason, when I heard that the Sasakis had cows, I was picturing them to be like our longhorns. They actually look like a cross between a longhorn and an African water buffalo.
After a brief trip to the book store, Noh, Emi, the boys, and I went to the Tome City summer festival. It was pretty early (before noon) so there weren't many people. I ran into Linda and her host sister. There were many booths that had carnival games or sold food. The first performance I saw was a rock band. I wish I had gotten their name because I really enjoyed their music. The lead singer reminded me of Hyde from L'Arc~en~Ciel in voice and mannerisms. The band sounded like Camino, and there was only one world to describe them: kakkoi!! (I equate the word's meaning to that of the Chinese version of "cool," which connates hipness and attractiveness in addition to just being plain awesome.) I had to let myself be a loud American during and after their concert. When the guitarist yelled "Konnichiwa!" and asked the crowd to respond, I replied as loudly as I could. I think he dug that since only a couple of people responded. Now I understand why the J-rock and J-pop artists that come over to the US are thrilled to see us go crazy at their lives. Japanese audiences are very reserved: they applaud and cheer softly. Anyway, I am eternally grateful that Emi came over when I was trying to ask for a photo of the band. Domo arigato gozaimasu! (Thank you very much!) Not to brag, but they were flattered to have an American fan. I invited them to play here, to which the lead singer replied that he would like to very much. I'm super stoked to have met them and shook their hands (remember J-rock fangirl here :D).
The deer dancers that came to Southlake followed the band. After them were several performances by school kids. One elementary school band played "Phantom of the Opera" and another group (which also had a drill team) did "YMCA." The drum major girl was kawaii. Tsuku-chan was part of a traditional fishing dance. There was also a choir and taiko drummers (those were older kids). I always love taiko performances.
It was already 3 PM when we got around to eating lunch at a sushi restaurant. I forgot the name of the sushi that I really liked, but it resembled unagi (eel), of which I have a strange obsession. Their California rolls were different but still oishii (yummy). Takemaru was a pro at ordering what he wanted. When we returned, I was so tired that I took a nap and didn't wake-up until dinner time at 7 PM. When we were watching the news, Takemaru said that Condoleeza Rice had a scary face. ^o^ Take into account that he's only 8. Then we watched something that seemed to resemble Dancing With the Stars.
I just got back from a trip to a "music shop." When Emi first mentioned that we were going to one at 9 PM, I thought we were going to a CD store. It was actually a small bar that played jazz music. I really liked the chill atmosphere, and the bartender was nice. Don't worry, I didn't drink any alcohol (the legal age is 20). Tomorrow, we're watching fireworks. Matta ne! (See you later)
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